BS
The “Pod Lupom” Coalition for Free and Fair Elections warns that the training of election administration staff must be urgently intensified and improved to ensure the successful implementation of biometric voter identification and ballot scanners on Election Day.
The introduction of new electoral technologies represents one of the most significant advancements in the conduct of elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the success of this reform will depend not only on whether the devices are delivered to polling stations, but also on whether the people operating them are adequately trained to use them properly under the real-life conditions of Election Day.
The findings of the “Pod Lupom” Coalition indicate that a significant number of election commissions, polling station committees, and operators are still not sufficiently prepared to conduct elections using the new technologies. A particular concern is that the initial training sessions were predominantly theoretical and lacked practical, hands-on work. In some areas, election administration staff have still not had an opportunity to become familiar with the equipment they will be using, while in other areas training has not yet even begun, despite the fact that, according to the electoral activities calendar, the deadline for completing the training of polling station committees was yesterday, 24 September 2026.
While it is clear that the training of election administration staff started very late due to numerous obstacles to the implementation of the new technologies, it is now also evident that there is a degree of institutional and systemic sluggishness in the training process itself. Training must therefore be better planned and significantly intensified.
We must not allow institutional delays to jeopardize a multi-million-euro project designed to protect Election Day from documented instances of electoral theft and fraud, ultimately strengthen the integrity of elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and restore citizens’ confidence in the electoral process.
Shortcomings in preparation will first become visible at polling stations. Insufficiently trained election administration staff may lead to a slower voting process, longer queues, additional questions and uncertainty among voters, incorrect application of procedures, or unnecessary prolongation of delays in the event of technical problems. Even when the devices themselves function properly, inadequate preparation of the people operating them can produce the same consequences, which citizens may then perceive as problems with the technology itself.
The “Pod Lupom” Coalition believes that the remaining ten days are sufficient to significantly reduce the existing risks, but only if preparations are immediately moved into their most intensive phase and if practical training, equipment testing, and the resolution of potential problems become an absolute priority.
